Test circuits for verification of power device models

Abstract

One of the most important components of any modern power converter topology is the power semiconductor device. To predict the behavior of high-power devices in complex circuits it is necessary to accurately characterize them. Because of the cost involved in building complex circuits, it is often necessary to carry out extensive simulations to understand the device behavior under various operating conditions imposed by the particular circuit topology. For accurate simulations, it is necessary to develop good and accurate device models using advanced device simulation tools. The device models are generally developed using static and some switching measurement data. To verify the accuracy of these models, the simulation data must be compared with the measured data under different operating conditions. Test circuits used to carry out such simulations and measurements must satisfy a number of criteria such as robustness, accuracy, cost efficiency and repeatability. In addition, they should be easy to simulate accurately. This paper presents some simple and accurate test circuits used for the verification of various power device models.